September 26, 2021: Nicholas Canellakis, cello; Sihao He, cello; Paolo Bordignon, harpsichord LUIGI BOCCHERINI (1743-1805) Cello Sonata No. 6 in A major, G. 4 September 26, 2021: Nicholas Canellakis, cello; Sihao He, cello; Paolo Bordignon, harpsichord Boccherini achieved widespread recognition in his day both as a cellist and as an extremely prolific composer primarily of chamber music. He wrote more than 100 string quintets, close to 100 string quartets, and some 150 other chamber works, including more than thirty cello sonatas. He was and is especially celebrated for his string quintets in the two-violin, viola, two-cello configuration, contributing more to the genre than any other composer in history. The many gaps in our knowledge of Boccherini’s life and works were widened by the destruction of many of his manuscripts and his own thematic catalog in 1936 in Madrid during the Spanish Civil War—he had spent much of his life as a court composer in Madrid. Furthermore, some information long held to be true has been cast into doubt. During the years 1787 to 1796, for instance, he was assumed to have been in Prussia on the strength of an appointment there and a letter by him from Breslau. Since the letter now appears unauthentic and there is no record of him at the Prussian court, he probably remained in Spain, living on his royal pension and earning a Prussian salary by fulfilling his obligations long distance. He did compose for King Friedrich Wilhelm of Prussia, the same cello-playing king for whom Mozart and Haydn wrote quartets and Beethoven wrote sonatas. The renown Boccherini enjoyed in his prime is attested to by the remarks of the usually cautious Charles Burney, famed eighteenth-century historian, who rated him “among the greatest masters who have ever written for the violin or violoncello,” placing him second only to Haydn. The taste for Boccherini’s elegant, galant style waned, however, and he died in Madrid in poverty. The latter half of the twentieth century has witnessed a periodic resurgence of interest in his music: Gérard’s thematic catalog was published in 1969, a complete edition was begun in the 1970s, and a manuscript containing eighteen cello sonatas—three hitherto unknown—was discovered in 1982; yet much of his music awaits rediscovery. The cello sonatas present an interesting set of problems. Was the “solo” part once intended for violin? The probable first edition appeared in that form; most evidence, however, points to the solo part having been written for cello. Was the accompanying part written for cello or bass? Furthermore, since the part is unfigured, should it really be realized at the keyboard? Many such realizations have been made and performances usually include keyboard. The present Sonata in A major, one of the best known, is called No. 6 because it appeared last in a group of six Boccherini sonatas published in the 1770s in both violin and cello versions. The same grouping of six was retained 100 years later when Alfredo Piatti reedited the sonatas in a cello and piano version for the publisher Ricordi, and in subsequent editions. A second version of the second movement remained unknown as did most of the other cello sonatas. A third movement, Affettuoso, also exists, but is frequently omitted in performance. Additional confusion besets the order of the movements. Most of the manuscripts and printed editions follow the order Adagio, Allegro moderato, Affettuoso, but the manuscript that Gérard used for his thematic catalog of Boccherini’s works reverses the order of the first two movements. The songful, highly ornamented Adagio outlines the simplest of binary forms in which the first half moves from the tonic key to the dominant and the second returns to the tonic. It is based on one theme, which receives a slight development at the beginning of the second half, but which—in a kind of elegant asymmetry—does not return at the close. The Allegro moderato again takes up binary form, with more suggestion of early sonata form, but demonstrating Boccherini’s characteristic structural flexibility. Such freedom is shown in the “recapitulation,” which contains no return to the first theme (that beginning after the introductory four bars), but rather to subsequent “exposition” material. Interestingly enough the little-known second version of this movement does contain a return of the first theme in the “recapitulation,” adding a certain formal stability but forfeiting some of the charming episodic ideas. © Jane Vial Jaffe Return to Parlance Program Notes

IAN ROSENBAUM, PERCUSSION Praised by The Strad as an “utterly dazzling” artist, with “a marvelous show of superb technique” and “mesmerizing grace” (New York Classical Review), violinist Danbi Um captivates audiences with her virtuosity, individual sound, and interpretive sensitivity. A Menuhin International Violin Competition Silver Medalist, winner of the prestigious 2018 Salon de Virtuosi Career Grant, and a recent top prizewinner of the Naumburg International Violin Competition, she showcases her artistry in concertos, solo recitals, and in collaboration with distinguished chamber musicians. 
 Her recent and forthcoming engagements include solo appearances with the Chamber Orchestra of Philadephia (Kimmel Center), Brevard Philharmonic, and New York recital debut at Lincoln Center presented by the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, San Francisco recital debut on Music@Menlo’s celebrated “Carte Blanche” series, and Philadelphia recital debut presented by Astral Artists. In addition, she will debut at the Wolf Trap in Washington D.C., and her return to the Parlance Chamber Music Series (NJ), Caramoor Festival as well as a national tour with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. During 2017-18 season, She also debuted for the Palm Beach Chamber Music Society with pianist Juho Pohjonen, the Philadelphia Orchestra’s “Morning Musicales”, and at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C., with pianist Orion Weiss. After winning the 2014 Music Academy of the West Competition, Ms. Um made her concerto debut in the Walton Violin Concerto with the Festival Orchestra, conducted by Joshua Weilerstein. Recent concerto engagements include appearances with the Israel Symphony, Auckland Philharmonic, Vermont Symphony, and the Dartmouth Symphony. She also recently appeared in recital and in chamber music performances in such venues as the Kennedy Center, Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center, Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, the Harris Theatre in Chicago, Wigmore Hall in London, and at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art. An avid chamber musician, Ms. Um is a current artist member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center (CMS) and will see her opening the CMS’s 50th anniversary season in fall 2019 at Alice Tully Hall. Festival appearances have included those at Marlboro, Ravinia, Yellow Barn, Moab, Seattle, Caramoor, and North Shore. This past summer, Ms. Um made critically acclaimed debut at the Moritzburg Festival in Dresden, Germany at the invitation of Jan Vogler. Her chamber music collaborators have included Anthony Marwood, Vadim Gluzman, Pamela Frank, Cho-Liang Lin, Paul Neubauer, Frans Helmerson, Jan Vogler, David Shifrin, and Gilbert Kalish. Born in 1990 in Seoul, South Korea, Ms. Um began violin lessons at the age of three. In the year 2000, she moved to the United States to study at the Curtis Institute of Music, where she earned a Bachelor’s degree. She also holds an Artist Diploma from Indiana University. Her teachers have included Shmuel Ashkenasi, Joseph Silverstein, Jaime Laredo, and Hagai Shaham. Ms. Um is a winner of Astral’s 2015 National Auditions. She plays a 1683 “ex-Petschek” Nicolo Amati violin, on loan from a private collection.

March 24, 2019: Kristin Lee, violin; Paul Huang, violin; Danbi Um, violin; Pierre Lapointe, viola; Dov Scheindlin, viola; Maurycy Banszek, viola; Edward Arron, cello; Mihai Marica, cello; Joel Noyes, cello; Tim Cobb, bass; Gilles Vonsattel, harpsichord JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH (1685-1750) Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, BWV 1048 March 24, 2019: Kristin Lee, violin; Paul Huang, violin; Danbi Um, violin; Pierre Lapointe, viola; Dov Scheindlin, viola; Maurycy Banszek, viola; Edward Arron, cello; Mihai Marica, cello; Joel Noyes, cello; Tim Cobb, bass; Gilles Vonsattel, harpsichord In March 1719, when Bach was in Berlin to collect the new harpsichord made for Cöthen by court instrument maker Michael Mietke, he had occasion to play for Margrave Christian Ludwig of Brandenburg. The meeting spurred an invitation from the Margrave for Bach to send him some compositions. The works that he sent probably originated in Weimar even before Bach’s move to Cöthen in 1717, but it took yet another two years for him to complete, compile, and submit his “Six concerts avec plusieurs instruments” (Six concertos with several instruments). He dedicated the 1721 manuscript to the Margrave, saying: As I had a couple of years ago the pleasure of appearing before Your Royal Highness . . . and as I noticed then that Your Highness took some pleasure in the small talents that Heaven has given me for Music, and as in taking leave of Your Royal Highness, Your Highness deigned to honor me with the command to send Your Highness some pieces of my composition: I have then in accordance with Your Highness’s most gracious orders taken the liberty of rendering my most humble duty to Your Royal Highness with the present Concertos, which I have adapted to several instruments. No record exists of the Margrave of Brandenburg ever using the scores, ever sending Bach a fee, or ever thanking him. Legend has it that a lack of acknowledgment may have stemmed from the Margrave’s instrumental resources not matching those of Cöthen or Weimar, thus rendering the pieces unperformable at his establishment. It certainly is true that Bach used unprecedented and different scoring in each of the individual works, treating the collection like an “Art of the Concerto Grosso” and thus was not aiming to match any specific establishment’s resources. The manuscript eventually became the property of the state library in Berlin, remaining unpublished until the Bach revival in the nineteenth century. In 1880 Philipp Spitta, Bach’s famous biographer, coined the term “Brandenburg Concertos,” which has been used ever since for the beloved works. Bach employed the simple yet flexible plan for the concerto grosso developed by Torelli and Corelli and standardized by Vivaldi—a small solo group (concertino) alternating with the full ensemble (ripieno or tutti), typically in three movements: fast slow, fast. The Brandenburg Concertos offer a wide spectrum of innovative instrumental schemes and combinations and a great variety in treatment of form. Nos. 1, 3, and 6 use instrumental forces that are fairly balanced in number, with No. 1 containing some violino piccolo solos and No. 6 featuring two violas. Nos. 2, 4, and 5 contrast a small concertino with a large ripieno throughout, with different instruments featured in each case. Though the Third Brandenburg Concerto is scored only for strings and continuo (bass line instrument and keyboard), the texture is kaleidoscopic, with constant shifts between combinations of instruments. Bach’s love of symmetry is apparent in his balancing of the three groups of strings—violins, violas, and cellos—and the three instrumental parts within each group. It is highly unusual that Bach did not provide a slow movement for this Concerto. In between the two fast movements Bach left a one-measure Adagio consisting of two cadential chords, out of which some keyboard players might have improvised a slow movement. The first movement’s opening three-note gesture provides motivic material for much of the remainder of the movement. The finale adopts the form of a gigue, a traditional dance movement in two-part form—here the second section of the gigue is three times as long as the first. Fast notes in perpetual motion, first presented with one instrumental part imitating the other, drive the movement irresistibly forward. © Jane Vial Jaffe Return to Parlance Program Notes

SHAI WOSNER, PIANO Shai Wosner continues to attract international recognition for his exceptional artistry, musical integrity and creative insight. With imaginative programming that communicates his intellectual curiosity, Wosner performs a wide-ranging repertoire from Mozart and Beethoven to Ligeti and composers of his own generation. Hailed by the Financial Times as “an artist to follow keenly”, Wosner’s virtuosity and perceptiveness have made him a favorite among audiences and critics alike. In the 2009-2010 season, Mr. Wosner made his highly acclaimed subscription debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and conducted the Los Angeles Chamber orchestra from the keyboard, in a performance broadcast on National Public Radio. He returned to the BBC Scottish Symphony in both subscription concerts and performance at the Proms with Donald Runnicles and appeared with the BBC Philharmonic in a live broadcast from Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall. He has also performed in solo recitals throughout the US as well as in duo recitals with Viviane Hagner (at the Kennedy Center), Christian Poltéra (at Wigmore Hall in London) and Jennifer Koh. Other recent highlights include his debut with the Cleveland Orchestra; his return to the Atlanta and Houston symphonies and the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia; appearances with the North Carolina and Charlotte symphonies and the Sacramento Philharmonic; and solo recitals at the 92nd St. Y in New York, the Musée d’Orsay in Paris and Wigmore Hall. His 2010-2011 season includes subscription concerts with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Bournemouth Symphony and the National Arts Centre Orchestra, and the release of a solo recording of works by Brahms and Schoenberg on the Onyx label. Wosner will also appear in solo recitals broadcast live on Radio 3 from the Wigmore Hall and Cardiff’s Hoddinott Hall as well as at the Piano Aux Jacobins festival in France. His duo recitals include appearances with Martin Fröst (at Lincoln Center), Dietrich Henschel, and Jennifer Koh. Other recent and upcoming engagements include appearances at the Hay-on-Wye festival, the Stavanger Chamber Music Festival, the Cheltenham Festival, and the City of London Festival. Wosner is the recipient of both an Avery Fisher Career Grant as well as a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award, which led to the commission of Michael Hersch’s “Along the Ravines”, a concerto for piano and chamber orchestra. He recently completed a residency as a BBC New Generation Artist, during which he played frequently with the BBC orchestras, including appearances conducting Mozart concertos from the keyboard with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. His performances in recital, chamber music, and orchestral repertoire continue to be broadcast on Radio 3. In recent seasons, he has appeared with numerous major orchestras in North America, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl; the National Arts Centre Orchestra; the Philadelphia Orchestra; the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra; the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra; the Fresno Philharmonic; and the symphony orchestras of Chicago, Baltimore, San Francisco, Atlanta, Indianapolis, Dallas, Milwaukee, Columbus and Memphis. In Europe, he has appeared with the Staatskapelle Berlin, the Vienna Philharmonic, the Gothenburg Symphony, the Barcelona Symphony, the Frankfurt Radio Symphony, the Orchestre National de Belgique and the Nieuw Sinfonietta Amsterdam, among others. In 2006, he debuted with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra in Salzburg, during the 250th anniversary celebrations of Mozart’s birth. He has work with conductors such as Daniel Barenboim, Zubin Mehta, Leonard Slatkin, Donald Runnicles, Alan Gilbert, Peter Oundjian, Gunther Herbig, James Conlon, Ji_í B_lohlávek and James Judd. Wosner is widely sought after by his colleagues for his versatility and spirit of partnership. As a chamber musician, he has collaborated with numerous esteemed artists including Pinchas Zukerman, Lynn Harrell, Ralph Kirshbaum, Christian Tetzlaff and Cho-Liang Lin. He is a former member of Lincoln’s Center’s Chamber Music Society Two and performs regularly at various chamber music festivals, including Chamber Music Northwest in Portland, the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, and the Jerusalem Chamber Music Festival, among others. Other summer festival appearances include the Ravinia Festival, Hollywood Bowl, Mostly Mozart, the Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival, Grand Teton Music Festival, and Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival. Recent chamber music engagements include a performance with members of The New York Philharmonic at Avery Fisher Hall; a performance of the Mozart concerto for three pianos with Joseph Kalichstein and Alon Goldstein and the New York String Orchestra with Jaime Laredo at Carnegie Hall; and collaborations with the Tokyo, Miro and Parker string quartets, and the Georgian Chamber Players at Spivey Hall. For several consecutive summers, Wosner was also involved in the West-Eastern Divan Workshop led by Daniel Barenboim and toured as soloist with the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra. Born in Israel, Mr. Wosner enjoyed a broad musical education from a very early age, studying piano with Emanuel Krasovsky as well as composition, theory and improvisation with André Hajdu. He later studied at The Juilliard School with Emanuel Ax. Shai lives in New York City with his wife and daughter.

SYLVIA DANBURG VOLPE, VIOLIN Sylvia Danburg Volpe joined the orchestra as Associate Principal Second Violin in the year 2000. A native of Houston, Texas, she began her undergraduate studies with Ken Goldsmith at the Shepard School of Music at Rice University, and completed her Bachelor of Music at Juilliard with Glenn Dicterow. She made her New York solo debut at Alice Tully Hall in 1996, where she was praised by the New York Times for “beautiful tone — both lyricism and virtuosity”. Sylvia plays with the MET Chamber Ensemble concert series at Carnegie Hall, and has performed a wide variety of classical and cross-over music both here and abroad. In addition to this, for several weeks a year she actively dedicates herself to the pursuit and refinement of the perfect Christmas cookie.

October 14, 2018: Garrick Ohlsson, piano JOHANNES BRAHMS (1833-1897) Eight Pieces, Op. 76 October 14, 2018: Garrick Ohlsson, piano During his stay in the lovely village of Pörtschach in the summer of 1879, Brahms worked diligently on his Violin Concerto, but he also returned to composing piano pieces, resulting in the Klavierstücke , op. 76. He had produced no piano works for public consumption in fifteen years, but had not abandoned his principal instrument completely as seen by the first of these pieces, which he had originally presented to Clara Schumann as a birthday present in 1871. Having permanently left behind the monumental sonatas and variation sets of his earlier period, he took up the thread of “miniatures,” begun with the Opus 10 Ballades and which would culminate in the late great piano pieces, opp. 116–119. He found such shorter pieces perfect for exploring a myriad of subtle textures and nuances of mood. And, as it turns out, he had not abandoned the variation techniques that fascinated him at all periods of his life—he had simply refined them. The eight Klavierstücke , op. 76, are divided into two main types: the faster, more extroverted Capriccios—Nos. 1, 2, 5, and 8—and the slower, more introspective Intermezzos—Nos. 3, 4, 6, and 7. Brahms invented such a variety of characters within each type, however, that the designations remain only loose categorizations. The first Capriccio, in F-sharp minor, and the second, in B minor, for example, could hardly be more different. The first is a swirling, turbulent piece, whereas the famous second Capriccio presents a lighthearted, sometimes impish demeanor. Brahms’s friend Elisabet von Herzogenberg, from whom he frequently solicited opinions on his music, said the F-sharp minor Capriccio was her favorite, but she also loved playing the second. Brahms employed slightly different forms for each of the eight pieces. They all, however, have to do with the alternation of two main sections and with the ingenious variation of a section when it returns. The first Capriccio contrasts the opening theme of yearning, wide-ranging figures with one in which a four-note figure recurs in many guises. In No. 2 the two basic themes alternate minor and major, but both are playful with enlivening grace notes and off-beat accents. The first of the Intermezzos, No. 3 in A-flat major, gives the impression of a music box in its first and third sections by means of high range and staccato accompaniment; these sections alternate with more lush music that hints at Chopin. The Intermezzo in B-flat major, No. 4, presents an intricate texture somewhat reminiscent of Schumann, with each voice maintaining its own rhythmic pattern. Here Brahms offers a complete miniature sonata form. The powerful Capriccio in C-sharp minor, No. 5, displays one of Brahms’s favorite rhythmic devices—the simultaneous use of 6/8 and 3/4 meter. The wonderful tension this creates is abetted by intense chromaticism. The second theme begins in a waiting pattern of repeated octaves, then bursts out in lively figuration. The Intermezzo in A major, No. 6, again brings Schumann to mind with its many-layered texture; it too juxtaposes rhythmic patterns of twos and threes. The most striking feature of No. 7, the A minor Capriccio, is the chordal theme that frames the piece. The second section is notable for its insistent return to one note (G-sharp). The set closes with a Capriccio of complex moods and textures—No. 8 in C major, which begins with a section of flowing eighth-note figuration, within which tied notes provide slight emphasis. The second, more chordal idea takes intriguing harmonic expeditions. Just when it seems the piece might conclude contemplatively, the coda gathers momentum for a forceful finish. Plagued by self-doubt, Brahms asked Clara Schumann if he should omit No. 8 from the publication. We can be grateful that she told him it was a great favorite of hers, perhaps saving the piece from banishment. © Jane Vial Jaffe Return to Parlance Program Notes

WEN QIAN, VIOLIN A “ Rare rill”, the Strad magazine review featured Ms. Wen Qian after her recital at Carnegie Hall, critic Dennis Rooney commented “ It was performed with enough insight and panache to thrill a listener while at the same time raising the question of why such results are so rarely achieved.“. Ms. Qian continues to enjoy a multifaceted career as an orchestra musician, soloist, chamber musician, and educator. Wen Qian was appointed as a first violinist in 1997 at the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, where she has also served as the acting Assistant Concertmaster for many years. Over the years she has been invited to be a guest concertmaster with the Philharmonia of the Nation, Germany, Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra, Jupiter Symphony of New York, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Tianjin Symphony Orchestra and Shenzhen Symphony. Ms. Qian has soloed with the Central Philharmonic of China, Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, Mannes Orchestra, Jupiter Symphony, South Shore Symphony, Centre Symphony and Long Beach Symphony. As a chamber musician, she has performed in music festivals and concert series including the Marlboro, Tanglewood, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and among others. Currently serves on the faculty at the Mannes College of Music, the demands of Ms. Qian’s teaching includes masterclasses and coachings at the New World Symphony in Miami, New York Youth Symphony, NYU, Conservatories throughout China and Taiwan.

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CLAY ZELLER-TOWNSON, BAROQUE BASSOON Clay Zeller-Townson Baroque bassoon Founder of the acclaimed period-instrument ensemble Ruckus , Clay Zeller-Townson performs regularly with many of North America's leading early music ensembles, including Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, Boston Baroque, Trinity Baroque Orchestra, American Bach Soloists, and Musica Angelica. An active educator as well as performer, he has presented masterclasses at the Eastman School of Music, UCLA, and the University of Missouri.

LOS ANGELES GUITAR QUARTET For over three decades on the concert stage, the members of the Grammy® Award-winning Los Angeles Guitar Quartet have continually set the standard for expression and virtuosity among guitar ensembles, while perennially redefining themselves in their musical explorations. Popularly known as the LAGQ, the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, is recognized as one of America’s premier instrumental ensembles. As one of the most charismatic groups performing today, their critically acclaimed transcriptions of concert masterworks provide a fresh look at the music of the past, while their interpretations of works from the contemporary and world-music realms continually break new ground. The LAGQ has given recitals in many of the world’s top venues, including Chicago’s Orchestra Hall, London’s Wigmore Hall and Southbank Centre, Tokyo Opera City, and New York’s Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall. They have toured extensively in Europe and Asia, where they were featured at the Hong Kong, Singapore and Manila International Arts Festivals and recently made highly successful debuts in China and Australia. The Los Angeles Guitar Quartet kicked off their 2016-17 season with a tour ofGermany. Performances throughout the season continue to span the United States, bringing them to Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, Maryland, Massachussetts, Mississippi, New Mexico, New York, Texas, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. Premiere performances of a new work by guitar legend Pat Metheny, commissioned specifically for them begin in October at Denver’s Newman Center and continue into the 2017-18 season. They bring the electric Rodrigo “Concierto Andaluz” to the Waco Symphony Orchestra and, for the holidays they reprise their beloved “Nutcracker Suite” on subscription and family concerts in San Francisco. Continuing to grow the repertoire for guitar quartet and guitar orchestra, the LAGQ will premiere a new work written by composer and longtime LAGQ member, Andrew York, throughout Arizona in April 2017 and plans to reprise this project in the Washington DC area the following month. Among last season’s highlights are a collaboration with Dweezil Zappa on a new work at the Crown of the Continent Festival in Montana, a reprise of their “Night of Spanish Romance” collaborative program with mezzo-soprano Janelle DeStefano and L.A. Flamenco to capacity crowds, and a tour the Baltics. Additional highlights include LAGQ’s role as Artistic Directors of the 2015 Laguna Beach Music Festival. As the focal point of the festival, they treated audiences to four days of performances, outreach activities and celebrations including: a joint concert with the LA Percussion Quartet, in which the combined octet premiered a new work by composer Jeff Holmes, a “Latin Romance” Valentine’s program with flamenco dancers plus a vocalist, and a closing performance of “The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote: Words and Music from the Time of Cervantes” with guest artist, Firesign Theatre veteran and voiceover actor, Phil Proctor. This last work was captured live at St Louis’ historic Sheldon Theater and released on DVD in March 2012. This multi-disciplinary project was originally developed and premiered in collaboration with the British actor John Cleese in Santa Barbara. Recent seasons have focused on many works written specifically for them including “Interchange,” the concerto written for them by Sergio Assad, and “SHIKI: Seasons of Japan,” a work written for them along with Guitar Orchestra. The world-premiere performance of “SHIKI” took place as part of an extended residency in Loudoun County (VA) a few days after the one-year anniversary of the Japanese earthquake. Since the premiere in 2012, this work, inspired by and dedicated to those affected by the earthquake and tsunami, has been performed in numerous communities throughout the United States. Pushing boundaries once again, the LAGQ participated in the ground breaking 2015 premiere of “How Little You Are” for voices and guitars, by Nico Muhly, one of today’s most sought after composers. The works was hosted by Texas Performing Arts in partnership with the Austin Classical Guitar Society and Conspirare. The Telarc release of “Interchange,” marked the LAGQ’s first recording of concertos by Rodrigo and Assad. “Interchange for Guitar Quartet and Orchestra,” the concerto written specifically for these four virtuosi by Brazilian composer and guitar master, Sergio Assad and featured on the Telarc CD, received a Latin Grammy® nomination for Best Classical Contemporary Composition. “Interchange” premiered at the Southwest Guitar Festival with the San Antonio Symphony in 2010 and was later recorded with the Delaware Symphony and Music Director David Amado, along with the Rodrigo “Concierto Andaluz”. Performing the work at the composer’s official centenary in Spain at the invitation of his daughter, for a “Live with the Boston Pops” television feature, and to a crowd of thousands at the Hollywood Bowl, are especially memorable events. Members of the Quartet also performed and recorded two works of Osvaldo Golijov with the Atlanta Symphony in Atlanta and at the Ojai(CA) and Ravinia(IL) Festivals. The LAGQ’s CD, “Guitar Heroes,” released on Telarc, won the group their first Grammy Award in 2005. It is a heartfelt salute to the great players who inspired the quartet, as individuals and as a group. It has received raves for its unique ability capture the feeling and fervor of diverse musical styles such as jazz, bluegrass, rock and flamenco. In November 2008, this recording joined those by artists such as the Who, Pink Floyd and Dire Straits on Sound and Visions “Top 10 Surround Discs of All Time”. Their first Telarc CD, “LAGQ – Latin,” features their popular transcription of Bizet’s Carmen, along with works from Chile, Cuba and some new original works by members of the quartet. This CD, which has received raves from listeners and critics alike, received a 2003 Grammy nomination and the Super Audio CD (SACD) version won the award for “Best Made for Surround” at the 1st Annual Surround Music Awards. The LAGQ’s release, “SPIN” (Telarc, 2006), shows yet again that the group is equally at home in a wide variety of musical genres and also features several commissioned works from their recent collaboration with percussionist Colin Currie. LAGQ-Brazil (Telarc, 2007) continues to receive raves and includes performances with singing sensation Luciana Souza. The LAGQ’s “Interchange” CD (Telarc, March 2010) features their long-awaited recording of Joaquin Rodrigo’s “Concierto Andaluz” and the premiere recording of Sergio Assad’s “Interchange” with the Delaware Symphony Orchestra. The DVD of “The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote” (March 2012) appears on the Mel Bay Artist Series, along with their first live-concert DVD. Their newest recording, entitled “New Renaissance,” released in March 2015 is a modern take on classic works. It includes long-awaited instrumental works from “Music from the Time of Cervantes”, and new works by Bogdanovic and Krouse, among others.

March 9, 2025: Ravel’s 150th Birthday Concert, with Erika Baikoff, Soprano; Soohong Park, piano Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) Cinq mélodies populaires grecques for soprano and piano March 9, 2025: Ravel’s 150th Birthday Concert, with Erika Baikoff, Soprano; Soohong Park, piano Early in 1904 French musicologist and philologist Pierre Aubry was preparing a lecture on Greek and Armenian folklore entitled “Songs of the Oppressed,” and he asked Greek-born fellow musicologist and critic Michel-Dimitri Calvocoressi to provide some examples from Greece. Singer Louise Thomasset agreed to perform them on short notice, but only with piano accompaniment, so Calvocoressi enlisted the help of his longtime friend Ravel. They selected five folk songs—four out of Pericles Matsa’s Chansons (Constantinople, 1883) and the fifth, “Les cueilleuses de lentisques,” from a Hubert Pernot collection entitled Chansons populaires de l’le de Chio . Ravel came up with the accompaniments in only thirty-six hours—his first foray into folk settings—and the lecture-demonstration duly took place on February 20 at the Sorbonne. The following year Ravel decided that three of the songs were “too brief,” so he arranged three others from the Pernot collection, which together with two of the originals, “Quel galant” and “Chanson des cueilleuses,” now make up his Cinq mélodies populaires grecques . On April 28, 1906, Calvocoressi presented a recital on popular Greek song, on which Marguerite Babaïan gave the first performance of the set in its new configuration. These songs were the first of Ravel’s pieces to be accepted by prestigious music publisher Durand, who wished to be granted first option on all of his subsequent works. Ravel left his stamp on these accompaniments with their chromatic inflections and reinterpretations of modes, but without destroying their original flavor. “Chanson de la mariée” (Song of the bride) is a lively wake-up call for a bride on her wedding day. Ravel accentuates the modal tune (Phrygian) with his chromatic harmonies and uses rapid-fire repeated notes to generate excitement. “Là-bas, vers l’église” (There by the church) takes up the same mode, but in gentle, serious reflection on those buried in the cemetery, replete with softly chiming “bells.” “Quel galant m’est comparable” (What galant compares with me?) begins in a boastful proclamation, takes up a dancelike strut, then indulges in a moment of tenderness, before a brief return to the dance. In “Chanson des cueilleuses de lentisques” (Song of the lentisk gatherers) Ravel keeps his setting simple, with floating harmonies and occasional spun-out elaboration for the voice alone. “Tout gai” (All gay!) cavorts happily in the major mode with no chromatic inflections. Ravel’s alternating-hand patterns provide lively interest to the ebullient “Tra-la-las.” —©Jane Vial Jaffe Texts and Translations Cinq mélodies populaires grecques Chanson de la mariée Réveille-toi, réveilletoi, perdrix mignonne, Ouvre au matin tes ailes. Trois grains de beauté, mon coeur en est brûlé! Vois le ruban d’or que je t’apporte, Pour le nouer autour de tes cheveux. Si tu veux, ma belle, viens nous marier! Dans nos deux familles, tous sont alliés! Làbas, vers l’église Làbas, vers l’église, Vers l’église Ayio Sidéro, L’église, ô Vierge sainte, L’église Ayio Costanndino, Se sont réunis, Rassemblés en nombre infini, Du monde, ô Vierge sainte, Du monde tous les plus braves! Quel galant m’est comparable Quel galant m’est comparable, D’entre ceux qu’on voit passer? Dis, dame Vassiliki? Vois, pendus à ma ceinture, pistolets et sabre aigu . . . Et c’est toi que j’aime! Chanson des cueilleuses de lentisques Ô joie de mon âme, Joie de mon coeur, Trésor qui m’est si cher; Joie de l’âme et du cœur, Toi que j’aime ardemment, Tu es plus beau qu’un ange. Ô lorsque tu parais, Ange si doux Devant nos yeux, Comme un bel ange blond, Sous le clair soleil, Hélas! tous nos pauvres cœurs soupirent! Five Popular Greek Songs Song to the bride Awake, awake, you cute partridge, open your wings to the morning. Three beauty marks, my heart is on fire! See the golden ribbon I bring you, to tie around your hair. If you want, my beauty, we shall marry! In our two families, all are allied! There, by the church There, by the church, by the Ayio Sidero church, the church, o holy Virgin, the church Ayio Costanndino, are gathered, assembled in infinite numbers, of the world, o holy Virgin, of the world, all the most brave folk! What gallant compares with me? What gallant compares with me, among those one sees passing by? Tell me, lady Vassiliki! See, hanging on my belt, pistols and curved sword . . . And it is you whom I love! Song of the lentisk (mastic tree) gatherers O joy of my soul, joy of my heart, treasure that is so dear to me, joy of my soul and heart, you whom I love ardently, you are more beautiful than an angel. O when you appear, angel so sweet, before our eyes, like a beautiful, blond angel, under the bright sun, alas! all our poor hearts sigh! Return to Parlance Program Notes

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2021 AT 3 PM GALA OPENER VIVALDI’S FOUR SEASONS BUY TICKETS ISABELLA BIGNASCA, VIOLA Juilliard graduate; Aspen, Kniesel Hall, Heifetz on Tour chamber music series JEANELLE BRIERLEY, VIOLIN Faculty Member, Cleveland Institute of Music DAVID J. GROSSMAN, BASS Principal Bass, LA Chamber Orchestra and member of the New York Philharmonic NATHAN MELTZER, VIOLIN “The only-19-year-old American Nathan Meltzer is already a violinist of great stature with unobtrusive technical brilliance, a very individual musicianship, and a supple tone. — Dresdner Neueste Nachrichten JAMES THOMPSON, VIOLIN “His phrasing was so supple, his sound so vibrant, and his facility so effortless that the music fairly leaped from the stage.” — Cleveland Plain Dealer OLIVER NEUBAUER, VIOLIN (2021) “His was a captivating performance, fully bringing-out the shifting moods, wit, and lyricism of Mozart’s music.” — The Epoch Times ARNAUD SUSSMANN, VIOLIN “Beauty of sound and elegance.” — Nice Matin KEVIN ZHU, VIOLIN “Awesome technical command and maturity” — The Strad PAOLO BORDIGNON, HARPSICHORD “Bordignon’s stylings were right on the mark as he amply showed us his fluid technique and mastery of the instrument.” — Salt Lake Tribune NICHOLAS CANELLAKIS, CELLO “impassioned … the audience seduced by Mr. Canellakis’s rich, alluring tone.” — The New York Times SIHAO HE, CELLO “Shanghai born cellist Sihao is a big scaled splendid cellist who played a very technically demanding program like a magician.” — Live Report, Tokyo JOEL NOYES, CELLO “Light effortless bow strokes, barely grazing the strings, produced feathery pianissimos…Noyes characterized each movement with color and distinction” – Strad Magazine CLARA NEUBAUER, VIOLIN “It was a committed, refreshing performance displaying absolute technical security.” — The Epoch Times PAUL NEUBAUER, VIOLA (2021) “A master musician.” — The New York Times DANBI UM, VIOLIN “Danbi Um’s playing is utterly dazzling…a marvelous show of superb technique” — The Strad FEATURING ABOUT THE PERFORMANCE BUY TICKETS GALA OPENER VIVALDI’S FOUR SEASONS Fifteen outstanding musicians will join forces for PCC’s seasonal Opening Gala. Framed by Vivaldi violin concertos, the program will showcase four prodigiously talented young violinists in Vivaldi’s Concerto in B minor for Four Violins, as well as four seasoned violin soloists in Vivaldi’s ever-popular Four Seasons. The festive afternoon will also include Boccherini’s eloquent Cello Sonata in A and an all-star performance of Bach’s 6th Brandenburg Concerto. Don’t miss this electrifying opening to Parlance Chamber Concerts’s 14th Season! PROGRAM Antonio Vivaldi Violin Soloists: Spring: Danbi Um Summer: Nathan Meltzer Autumn: Arnold Sussmann Winter: Kevin Zhu The Four Seasons Program Notes J.S. Bach Brandenburg Concerto No. 6 Viola Soloists: Paul Neubauer and Arnaud Sussmann Program Notes Luigi Boccherini Cello Sonata No. 6 in A, G. 4 Cello Soloist: Nicholas Canellakis Program Notes Antonio Vivaldi Violin Soloists: James Thompson, Oliver Neubauer, Clara Neubauer, Jeanelle Brierley Concerto in B minor for 4 violins Program Notes Watch Arnaud Sussmann perform Autumn from The Four Seasons: Watch Paul Neubauer perform Bach’s 6th Brandenburg: